Here are Houston Democracy Project Blog Notes & Observations for September 30. Election Day is in 36 days on November 5th & Early Voting begins in 22 days on October 21st.  

* Donald Trump says brutal policing will solve crime. Here is what he said--

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday called for “one real rough, nasty” and “violent day” of police retaliation in order to eradicate crime “immediately.”......“One rough hour — and I mean real rough — the word will get out and it will end immediately, you know? It will end immediately,” Trump said. 

Authoritarianism will require a local infrastructure. Many Texas police unions support Ted Cruz for re-election despite his role in the January 6th, 2021 insurrection attempt. Trump is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police.    

We should know the views of the six Republicans on Houston City Council on these threats of police violence by the person they support for president of the United States & on the backing of political extremism by police unions.    

Houston City Council has a Public Safety Committee. I'd say police with a blank check to terrorize citizens is a public safety threat. The Chair of the committee is Republican Amy Peck. The other Republicans on the committee are Twila Carter, Mary Nan Huffman and Julian Ramirez. The two Democrats are Joaquin Martinez and Tarsha Jackson.

Call or e-mail them and ask where they stand on the prospect of police having little or no constraints & the backing of police unions for candidates in favor of this violence. Ask Chair Peck if the committee will address this matter when it next meets on October 8? The local political press should be asking these questions as well.      

​* The law Ken Paxton used to violently raid the homes of both a rank and file activist and a candidate for the Texas House has been invalidated by a federal judge. You can read the links for more details. The upshot is more Paxton election-subversion for the purpose of implanting Project 2025, encouraging violence against immigrants and making our lives lousy.   

* There is a story in the Houston Landing about the race for Tax Assessor-Collector. Annette Ramirez is the Democrat and Steve Radack is the Republican. One duty of this position is to be in charge of voter registration in the county. Ms. Ramirez has been active in trying to get out the full Democratic vote and has been discussing the protection of democracy as a Harris County issue in 2024. I appreciate her efforts. As the story details, Mr. Radack thinks ineligible voters have tilted the outcomes of elections in the county. What he asserts is simply not true. It's a lie meant to take our freedom.        

* On Twitter--I know it's a sewer--there are posts on right-wing accounts with large numbers of followers talking about how Hurricane Helene was manipulated to go over Republican-voting portions of North Carolina to keep those folks from voting. It's easy to laugh at this stuff. But it's all about the setting up the doubt and absurdities that will permit Republicans to disregard election results and advocate violence.    

Here is a fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. 
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Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.

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Above is a picture I took today of a robotic police dog owned by the Houston Police Department. I saw it at a National Night Out. The officer controlling the dog had it going up to children and running around just like a real dog. It is very agile. 

That dog is not your friend. It's there to spy on you & will be utilized in any way cities will permit--That is basically whatever it is police feel they can get away with.

Here is a story about a robot dog in China with a machine gun hitched on it.  That's how friendly the robot dog is. It's another way to militarize everything & it'll be used against you in China and right here at home.    

Here is a fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. 
​
Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.

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Above you see about an event J.D. Vance is part of on the campaign trail. Here is the link to the article  about the rally. The article is as disturbing as you might imagine.  

(J.D. Vance lives in my hometown of Cincinnati where I visit twice a year. He lives in a gentrifying multi-racial neighborhood not far from the art museum and playhouse. Cincinnati City Council is 9-0 Democratic. I don't know why he wants to live around all those bad people and devil-inspired art.)  

You'd think with these horrible people so close to the White House & the exciting prospect of electing Kamala Harris as President and Colin Allred as U.S. Senator from Texas, that well-funded Houston and Harris County elected Democrats would be active in the campaign.    

There are many rank & file Democrats in Harris County block-walking in the heat, buying stamps for postcards to voters, making small donations, buying yard signs and making phone calls for candidates. They show up when needed.  

Who are elected Democrats that could help the 2024 Democratic campaign in Harris County & help Colin Allred beat Ted Cruz?

​Here are some suggestions:       

County Commissioner Rodney Ellis has $6.2 million campaign cash on hand.

State Senator Carol Alvarado has $1.2 million campaign cash on hand. 

Houston Mayor John Whitmire has $9.9 million campaign cash on hand.   
 
Mayor Whitmire insists he is a Democrat. So let's take him at his word.   

Commissioner Ellis, Senator Alvarado and Mayor Whitmire have very successfully navigated systems that have taken us to the brink of authoritarianism, mass deportations and that have messed up the weather. It's not a lot to ask them to use the resources they've amassed over the years in these failing systems to help make sure we don't lose our freedom.

I encourage Commissioner Ellis, Senator Alvarado and Mayor Whitmire to connect right away on a Zoom call, or meet tomorrow over a cup of coffee, to determine a strategy to use their impressive campaign banks to bring home victory in 2024. After meeting up, the three could lead a block walk detailing their strategy to the press as they knock doors.                 

The Harris County Democratic Party has a listing of which candidates and elected officials have contributed to the HCDP Victory 2024 Fund Campaign. That is the county coordinated campaign. There is also a chart of which candidates and elected officials have been knocking doors across the county.

​Check out both lists. Thank the people on it & ask questions of the people you don't see.    

Elected officials are rarely reliable allies. They often have different objectives than do active rank & file Democrats. The good news is that they are our elected employees. You can ask them tough questions. We all have a lot on the line in 2024. Ask them the tough questions while there is still time to impact the outcome of this election.                
    
Here is a fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. 
​
Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.

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Here are Houston Democracy Project Blog Notes & Observations for September 26. Election Day is in 39 days on November 5th & Early Voting begins in 25 days on October 21st.  

* Above is word of a Republican get out the vote rally this Saturday. Dan Simons is the Republican nominee for Harris County District Attorney. He was a losing Harris County judicial candidate in 2022 and unsuccessfully sued to overturn the results. Despite this disregard for democracy, Mr. Simons thinks he should be in charge of enforcing the law.  Imagine that.   

On the list of attendees is County Commissioner Ramsey & Republican Houston Councilmembers Julian Ramirez, Twila Carter and Willie Davis. Do these people support mass deportations and are they willing to accept election results they don't like? Do they think immigrants eat pets? Local journalists & the people of Houston and Harris County should ask them.      

* Hurricane Helene is really powerful because of record warm water in the Gulf of Mexico caused in good part by climate change. Project 2025 would eliminate NOAA. Do Houston City Council Republicans support getting rid of NOAA?    

* A reminder on how to change and invalidate Houston city ordinances, such as the sidewalk ordinance, without a vote of Council. This is the model used successfully this week by Houston Councilmembers Tiffany Thomas, Ed Pollard and Carolyn Evans-Shabazz.

1. Use Proposition A meant to expand democracy to bring the proposed changes to Council. 2. Have no meaningful public discussion. 3. When you don't have the votes, allow the reactionary Mayor you've been arguing with for 8 months to write a memo that simply nullifies the part of the ordinance you want gone. 

​Here are more details.   

* Trump and his Republicans promise violence if they lose and authoritarianism if they win. It can't be repeated enough. We are being told lout loud. You should prepare for this in whatever way best serves you and the people in your life. The mainstream political system just chugs along and it'll go on with whatever measure of democracy survives this election. I'm not fatalistic and I push back.           
    
* Sample ballots have been released for the upcoming election. Click right here and see who is on your ballot.

​Here is a fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. 
​
Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.

Houston City Council discussed the city sidewalk ordinance today. Three Councilmembers--Tiffany Thomas, Carolyn Evans-Shabazz & Ed Pollard--want to change a provision in the law that requires developers to either build a sidewalk, or pay a fee when constructing a new house. The three councilmembers used newly approved Proposition A to propose the elimination of the fee. Proposition A allows any three members of Council to introduce an ordinance to the agenda. 

The discussion of elimination of the fee has been contentious. I oppose the changes, but that's an issue outside the Democracy Project. The concern here is that Mayor Whitmire today made the change sought by the three councilmembers by simply writing a memo. There was no vote of Council. This is not the way to proceed as I detail in the letter below that I e-mailed today to each of the ten Democrats on Council.

Here is the letter:            
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With democracy on the ballot in 41 days, the City of Houston took a step in the wrong direction today by negating the sidewalk fund ordinance with a memo from Mayor Whitmire, rather than by a vote of Council.    

The issue at this point has nothing to do with sidewalks. City leaders used a Proposition A-sponsored ordinance to undermine democracy. This is just the opposite of what Houston voters intended when overwhelmingly supporting Prop. A in 2023.    

How is there public safety or democracy when the law can be altered simply with a memo? How can we demand that our authoritarian State of Texas government obey the law in dealing with our elections and policies impacting cities, when the city is just making up the law as it suits political convenience and uncertain motives?     

Councilmembers would be best employed promoting democracy rather than dismantling it. It is important Houstonians be aware of what is at stake in the upcoming election. Houston City Councilmembers must take a role in providing this essential information. 

At issue in this election is a radical agenda that would put our city at risk. 

This agenda includes:

* Authoritarianism  
* Mass deportations 
* Project 2025
* Attacks on reproductive health care
* End of efforts to address climate change
* Increased legal immunity for police officers   

As strong as the pull of business as usual, these are the facts in front of us. What could be of higher concern at this moment other than stopping this extreme agenda? 

Please consider holding Democracy Town Halls to inform Houstonians of these threats. Be actively involved in efforts to stop those who would take our freedom. Put a pause on campaign fundraisers for the next city election three years away, and work right now to make sure there will still be a democracy in three years. 

Elected officials are rarely reliable allies. But here is a case where your interests converge with those of the public you represent. None of you will be safer than any of us in the future intended by those pushing the extreme agenda referenced above. Please join the fight right now while the battle ahead can still be won. 

Thank you. 

Here is a fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. 
​
Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.

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Here are Houston Democracy Project Blog Notes & Observations for September 24. Election Day is in 41 days on November 5th & Early Voting begins in 27 days on October 21st. (Picture of the Day is a nice purple Houston flower. There are good things all around us.) 

* Below is a Tweet I sent today where I tagged a number of Houston political journalists and political commentators--

"Do the six Republicans on Hou. City Council support Trump? (Carter, Davis, Flickinger, Huffman, Peck, Ramirez) Views on mass deportations? Commit to accept election results nationally and locally? Part of enacting Project 2025 locally? Why not asked if part of the extremism? #Houston"

Will these efforts make a difference? You never know. We should always try. I'm going to stick with the push in the days ahead. It does not always occur to political journalists to do things differently. Maybe the stakes in this year's election will spark some imagination & also some self-preservation from the dangers of the political right.      
 
* I know Twitter is a sewer of Musk's anti-democratic terribleness. For the moment, I find it useful as part of what the Houston Democracy Project is working to accomplish. I wish it were otherwise. I'm also wary that closer to Election Day it'll somehow be made completely unusable to anything other than the right.

The social media enterprises owned by Meta--Facebook, Threads and Instagram--are employing algorithms that hinder political content. There is no reason to trust any large social media firm in an authoritarian situation. Be certain to know how to contact people you'd trust or care about in a political crisis outside of the big social media channels.       
 ​     
Here is a fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. 
​
Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.

I got an e-mail fundraising pitch today from my State Representative Ann Johnson. I know Ann, she is effective and I'm glad to have her as my State Rep. (I'm fine to ask more of Democrats when needed.)

Rep. Johnson reported in her e-mail that she had received the endorsement of the Houston Chronicle. The Chronicle cited her willingness to work with Republicans in the endorsement. Here is a small portion of what the e-mail said:

"It's true: I am willing to negotiate and compromise to get things done for my district.   

But I have my limits. I will not negotiate when it comes to private school vouchers." 

Rep. Johnson says she has limits and school vouchers pass those limits. That's good to know. Vouchers are a scam to gut public schools and make Texas a theocracy.  

Are there other points where elected Democrats should set limits in dealing with authoritarian Texas Republicans? Democratic State Rep. John Bryant of Dallas has said House Democrats should be more aggressive with Republicans.

A reason often given for why Texas House Democrats need to go along to get along is that they are looking for good committee assignments from majority Republicans. It is not clear though how much longer good  committee appointments and committee chairs will be offered to the minority by Republicans.       

Texas House Democrats made a quorum break Washington in 2021 to oppose a voter suppression bill. That was a setting of limits. At least until it faltered.   

What would be a limit exceeded or boundary crossed that would cause Texas House Democrats to take up aggressive opposition-or even consistent protest-as a main approach to House Republicans? 

Mass deportations across Texas? Prohibiting women from traveling out of state for needed reproductive health care? Overturning Harris County elections results? Active support of a Donald Trump effort to win the election through violence or in our rigged Supreme Court after having lost at the ballot box? Support of repressive or violent actions by a President Trump enabled by the immunity he's been granted by the Supreme Court?   Moves towards approved state violence towards trans people?              
 
Representative Johnson brought up the concept of limits that can't be crossed. It's an idea worth developing and asking Texas legislators about. What are your limits? When do you break with a business as usual that has brought us to the brink of authoritarianism?  What risks will you take for the people you represent? Why would you imagine that you are safer than anybody else?         

Here is my fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. 
​
Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.

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​Here are Houston Democracy Project Blog Notes & Observations for September 22. Election Day is in 43 days on November 5th & Early Voting begins in 29 days on October 21st. (Today's Picture of the Day is a recent sunset over Buffalo Bayou. We can't live by politics alone.)

* A consistent theme of the Houston Democracy Project is that Houston political journalists must ask local Republican elected officials where they stand on mass deportations and Trump/Vance extremism & also that local Democratic elected officials should ask their Republican colleagues the same questions.

The threats to democracy are not in some far off place. They are right here in Houston/Harris County. We have to challenge people we know. People we see everyday. It's more important journalists ask essential questions than it is they retain access to elected officials. Business as usual at Houston City Council is not worth our freedom. 
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* I saw information about an event in favor of the Houston ISD bond where one of the people on the panel was Judith Cruz. Ms. Cruz was an elected HISD Trustee at the time of the anti-democratic State of Texas takeover of HISD. The elected Trustees lost all power. I don't understand how an elected official-Ms. Cruz is a Democrat-could accept losing the office they had campaigned for to a far-right outfit like the State of Texas, and then be accepting of it. Why did you run for the office in the first place? What about democracy? 

* Vote No on the HISD Bond. I've never voted against school bond before this year. I'm not going to reward the loss of our elected school board. Community Voices for Public Education is doing a great job helping lead opposition to the bond. Check them out and be part for the effort.    

*I checked my voter registration at Harrisvotes.org today. Don't be a victim of Republican voter purges and suppression. Because my last name is very Latin-Aquino-I'll check a couple of more times before the election. The last day to register to vote in October 7. 
​           
Here is my fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. 
​
Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.  

​

Here are Houston Democracy Project Blog Notes & Observations for September 21. Election Day is in 44 days on November 5th & Early Voting begins in 30 days on October 21st. (Today's Picture of the Day is a nice recent scene of Houston. While this election is stressful, we can't be stressed all the time.)   

*Authoritarianism will require a local infrastructure of support and action. Those migrants won't round up themselves. The six Republican members of Houston City Council are Twila Carter, Willie Davis, Julian Ramirez, Mary Nan Huffman, Amy Peck and Fred Flickinger. Do they support Trump? Do they believe immigrants eat pets? Will they commit to accepting election results they don't like? The local political press could ask them point blank. I don't understand why they don't. Here are the phone numbers and e-mails of Houston City Council. Contact their offices and ask where they stand on taking our freedom. Why aren't they held accountable for the extremism of the Republican Party?  

* The Houston Professional Firefighters Association got a big contract from the City of Houston recently despite the fact the city is strapped for cash. The firefighters union hasn't endorsed in the Presidential race even though Trump and Vance are union busting fascists and that Houston is a diverse city of immigrants. You'd think there would be some solidarity.....No. I don't really think that. But I'll keep hope alive they'll do the right thing & not forget if they keep silent.

* Trump's comments that Jewish voters will bear some of the blame should he lose should be taken at face value. Jewish people are never safe. Under Trump/Vance they'll be even less safe. If Mayor Whitmire wanted to protect Jewish people here in Houston, he'd spend less time making up stories that local Gaza protestors are paid by Iran and more time fighting an anti-Semitic Republican Party.    

* I wrote yesterday about how Democratic Party elected officials often have different objectives than the active rank & file who do so much of the work to sustain the party. One elected official who has been showing up for Get Out The Vote efforts is Harris County Criminal Court, #8 Judge Erika Ramirez. Judge Ramirez was lout walking today as she has already in the fall campaign. And she is not even on the 2024 ballot. She was elected in 2022 and will be up next in 2026. Judge Ramirez is fully with the program. Ask elected officials you know what they are doing to get out the vote in 2024.  

Here is my fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. 
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Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.

I wrote recently about which Democrats on the 2024 Harris County ballot have contributed so far to the Victory Campaign of the Harris County Democratic Party. This is the coordinated campaign run by the party to help all Democrats on the Harris County ballot. It's not a long list of candidates who have contributed.

The party also keeps a running tally of how many doors Democratic candidates have knocked.  Some candidates have knocked on some doors. A larger number have not knocked on any doors. (This all very much includes unopposed judges, non-incumbent judges with no Republican opponent and state and federal legislators in safe seats. And don't forget the ten Houston City Council Democrats elected last year. They can help as well.)  

There are different ways elected officials and well-financed non-incumbents might  assist the full ticket in ways we don't see. They might be holding fundraisers for other candidates or working hard behind the scenes.    

It's also quite possible they are sitting it out even as we confront an authoritarian threat in Texas and the nation.     

Elected officials often don't have the same aims as active rank & file volunteers, Democratic clubs and organizations, and the official party itself.

The average door knocker or small donor wants as many Democrats as possible to vote and as many Democrats as possible to win. There are also public policy goals, protection of rights and fending off the anti-democratic political right.      

The elected Democrat may well (or not) share some or all of these those goals. They also have objectives that the people who sustain the party with volunteer efforts and small donations do not hold.     

Some objectives Democratic elected officials might pursue not of top concern to you and I are:

1. Avoid a primary challenger. 
2. Raise a lot of money and hoard that money. Often this is about raising enough to scare off a primary challenger.
3. Raise campaign funds to pay for whatever it is permissive campaign finance laws allow.      
4. Cater to donors.
5. Use the office they hold to make money for themselves.     
6. Do as little as possible and still be an elected official.  
7. Use the power they have to satisfy private whims, agendas or vendettas.
8. Tamp down voter turnout and political enthusiasm to to avoid helping create a political climate that  generates primary challenges.
9. Not anger Republicans who in a legislative chamber might control committee assignments or the success of proposed bills. (You might see the value of this. But it's not clear how much longer Democrats will retain a meaningful voice in the organization of the Texas House).  
10. Look for a safe place to land in an each day more possible authoritarian future.      

Rank and file Democrats & Democratic clubs and organizations must hold the people they support and vote for accountable. Elected officials are rarely fully reliable allies. Our futures are at stake. Be enthusiastic when you can. Recognize and appreciate good people when it is right. Call them out when you must. 

Relationships between elected officials and the people who do the work within the same party do not have to be warm. They can be adversarial if need be. There is too much on the line to regard the people we vote for as anything other than elected employees there to do a job.           
    
Here is my fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. 
​
Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.